NEC can scale up analogue to HD video in 10 hours, not months

Maker of chips NEC has been working on image conversion technology which can change low resolution analogue video into HD – “one seventieth” times quicker than the norm.

It uses the technology to create HD from just a few frames of video. It overcomes traditional conversion difficulties, says Nikkei (subscription required), for example getting rid of flickering and fading colours that occur when analogue video is scaled up.

The idea is that it could be used to quickly convert TV programmes for their high definition counter-part channels, though it also has potential applications in identifying criminal suspects caught on CCTV.

The old method of scaling up an analogue filmed programme to HD takes about a month to convert just an hour of footage, but the new technology can take on the task in just 10 hours. It’s not ready just yet, according to NEC, and it’ll be a few years before it can be put to good use.

The Japanese company wants to sell the technology to broadcasters with high definition channels, which – unlike, we suspect, 3D – are here for the long game. There’s a possibility it will be used in software for home users and amateur video makers, too.